Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Contrary to popular belief, unmarried women do not bear children in order to obtain welfare benefits, and women who are on welfare do not have additional children in order to collect more money. The major welfare program for single mothers -- and the program most people have in mind when they think of welfare -- is Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Every state operates its own AFDC program, which pays a monthly cash benefit to mothers who apply for and qualify for assistance. Research by Gregory Acs of the Urban Institute finds that the size of a state's AFDC benefit has no impact on the decision of an unmarried woman to have a child or on the decision of a mother who already receives AFDC to have another child. Politicians, the press, and the public have latched onto the argument that the welfare system encourages childbearing. The cost of raising a child, however, is substantial, and the amount of money a woman would receive from the AFDC program would hardly defray that cost. According to Acs, restricting benefits for welfare recipients who have additional children may send a significant symbolic message--that long-term dependence on welfare is not an acceptable way to live--but it is unlikely to have any effect on childbearing. Consequently, restricting or sharply reducing AFDC benefits for needy women and children is difficult to justify.

Bibliography Citation

Acs, Gregory P. "The Impact of AFDC on Young Women's Childbearing Decisions." Discussion Paper No. 1011-93, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin - Madison, November 1993.